This invention relates to a device enabling an individual to practice striking a ball. Specifically, it relates to an original device for positioning a ball, of any variety, in a position desired by the individual for automatically or manually delivering succeeding balls to the desired position after each ball is struck by the individual.
Various types of ball dispensing devices have previously been developed such as pitching machines, T-batting machines and toss-batting machines. Such a device is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,407 to Sato which discloses a gravity-fed ball tossing device which feeds a sequence of balls at spaced intervals. The device relies on a series of levers and a meandering track to control the speed and interval of the balls released but is not adapted to dispense the differently sized balls of a variety of sports.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,810 to Brophy discloses a baseball dispensing device for practicing batting which includes a tubular chute for retaining and delivering baseballs to the hitter. A pair of rotating discs with holes which rotate perpendicular to the tubular opening allow balls to alternatively enter the central delivery chute. A contact spring is located at the distal end of the delivery chute which is flexed by the weight of the moving baseball projecting the baseball upward for a distance. The size of the dispensing device and the tubular delivery chute limit the variety of the balls which may be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,036 to Nelson et al. discloses a tennis teaching machine having a ball hopper slideably mounted on a vertical support. A hollow extension arm protrudes from the ball hopper having a ball projection mechanism located at its distal end. A rotating ball tray supported within the ball hopper supplies balls to the extension arm of the ball projection mechanism. An automated feeder is connected to a tape deck controlling the rate of delivery of the balls. This reliance on an automated feeder, the size of the ball hopper and extension arm limit the versatility of the unit. The size of the dispensing device and the tubular delivery chute limit the variety of the balls which may be used.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,955,823 and 2,955,824 to Chanko disclose a gravity-fed adjustable batting practice device for discharging balls from a magazine under the control of the batter. A runway or guide projects from the magazine discharging balls along a path which simulates that of a pitched ball passed through the strike zone of the batter. The batter is required to depress the free end of the wire runway to release a ball. Therefore, the size of the dispensing device and the tubular delivery chute limit the variety of the balls which may be used.